6am – and there’s neither fresh coffee, nor croissants in French service stations !!
Effectively, the harvest is over as in Morey St.Denis, even Domaine Ponsot finished their aligoté a couple of days ago !!
So today I’m closing this localised 2025 reporting with some of the longest-waited grapes to be picked in Beaujolais – my more in-depth thoughts on the harvesting period will come in my September report..
‘Heroic viticulture on the hillsides‘
That’s how the locals describe their cultivation of the steep vineyards, and only partly with tongue in cheek …
Here in Rivolet – southern Beaujolais, but still Beaujolais Villages – the loamy soil is kinder to cultivate than the sandy granite that characterises hillsides of Chiroubles and others like Le Perréon, but the gradient here is still not to be underestimated !!
These were the vines of Château de l’Éclair, sitting at 400m at the bottom of the parcel and going to 500m at the top: 0.8 ha of vines trained up and down the hill, another 0.8 that is terraced across the hill. Replanted from goblet-pruned vines in 1999. Our harvesting took place in 26°C, despite our altitude – the forecast suggests 11°C for next Tuesday…
Nice grapes, no rot, just a little dried grapes. The most consistent (still small) problem was some losses to wasps. Then followed a delicious lunch; the meat was cooked in the grape pressings with extra lees. I did a quick check, but failed to locate the tofu !!
